Turkey Hunting and Technology

[Spurs Up]

There have been several threads recently about declining numbers of turkeys and the need to give them a break, especially early in the season. That might be the answer. I hope it's that easy, however, I suspect it's no more than part of the answer or a temporary one anyway.

Whether there are more turkey hunters now than before is debatable, but it seems clear we are more efficient predators than ever. For better or worse, we're now armed with tools and resources like never before.

The internet and streaming video bring information instantly to everyone. How to hunt. Where to hunt. Then there's GPS and mapping apps. Layers with kill information and high-resolution imagery. Trail cameras. Now with real-time alerts to your smartphone. In most places, you can use drones that relay sharp video. And we're more mobile than ever. Pandemic aside, we can jet anywhere turkeys live and hunt them the same day. Maybe even jump on electric side-by-side or bike when we get there.

You can bet technology and manufacturing will continue to advance, only more rapidly than ever before. Hunters in general will adopt it if gives them an edge. What's next and at what point does it become too much and a detriment to the overall sport?  Is it already hurting turkey populations?  If not, is there a point when it will or might?

[Happy]

I believe it is. I believe the time will come when the two choices will be to either cut back on bag limits or restrict equipment to make it harder to kill them.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Greg Massey]

How a person hunts and kills turkey is all up to that person. We are not the ones to judge others. Sure over the years we have come a long way in how we hunt , but i can tell you it's a lot better than years ago , we would hunt all season with the hopes of just seeing or hearing couple gobblers season. Do i want to go back to the old days NO WAY. Even with all these advancements , you still have to hunt to kill turkeys and be persistent in becoming successful. Turkeys will make a fool out of you most days why because they live outdoors and your on his turf so no way are you equal to him as he holds the advance regardless of advancements and technology.

[guesswho]

I'd go back to the old days in a second.   My old days may be different than most.   My old days consisted of a 100,000 acre WMA with a good population of birds.   And you might see 3 maybe 4 other camps.  The big technological advancement was the introduction of plastic shells.   Now turkey hunting, like a lot of other activities have been dumbed down to the point a first time hunter stands a good chance of success, thus having a negative effect on populations based on current bag limits and season lengths.   With all the crutches available today I doubt the population can keep up no matter what changes are made to season dates and bag limits. 

[fallhnt]

I still hunt like I did in the 90s.
'88 Rimington  11-87
Worn out camo.
3 in upland loads #6
Decoys
Bow
Ground blind
I'll take better broadheads and realistic decoys with a blind for bowhunt but I still walk all that gear in.
No need for cameras,or mapping. It's don't help anyway. What's you tube?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Sir-diealot]

One of the technologies that has really hurt turkey are the advances in farming techniques, you have faster combines that do a more efficient job and don't leave as much on the ground for wildlife as it once did, being faster animals do not have as much time to get out of the way of blades, discs or whatever is being used and they get injured or killed, farmers are cutting hay, clover and straw much sooner than they used to and that means nests getting run over or pults getting killed and so on and so fourth. When I was young you would see straw or hay cut twice a year starting normally late June and then again late August or early September so that cover is not there the way it once was and that is because of advances in farming techniques. To me I think it has hurt wildlife but you can't fault a man for trying to make a living, just saying not all advances are progress.

[Timmer]

I believe we are losing hunters at a faster pace than technology is increasing success.  I would guess loss of habitat has the worst impact on bird numbers.

One of the technologies that has really hurt turkey are the advances in farming techniques, you have faster combines that do a more efficient job and don't leave as much on the ground for wildlife as it once did, being faster animals do not have as much time to get out of the way of blades, discs or whatever is being used and they get injured or killed, farmers are cutting hay, clover and straw much sooner than they used to and that means nests getting run over or pults getting killed and so on and so fourth. When I was young you would see straw or hay cut twice a year starting normally late June and then again late August or early September so that cover is not there the way it once was and that is because of advances in farming techniques. To me I think it has hurt wildlife but you can't fault a man for trying to make a living, just saying not all advances are progress.

That's an interesting perspective.  The farmer where I hunt has shared several times that he often kills nesting hens when cutting hay.  I'm not sure if modern farming techniques makes that situation any worse.  In my mind it's loss of habitat that causes decline.  Farms are selling out to developments, farmers are trying to use every available inch of land so they are knocking down woods, farming hillsides, etc.   

[Sir-diealot]

I believe we are losing hunters at a faster pace than technology is increasing success.  I would guess loss of habitat has the worst impact on bird numbers.

One of the technologies that has really hurt turkey are the advances in farming techniques, you have faster combines that do a more efficient job and don't leave as much on the ground for wildlife as it once did, being faster animals do not have as much time to get out of the way of blades, discs or whatever is being used and they get injured or killed, farmers are cutting hay, clover and straw much sooner than they used to and that means nests getting run over or pults getting killed and so on and so fourth. When I was young you would see straw or hay cut twice a year starting normally late June and then again late August or early September so that cover is not there the way it once was and that is because of advances in farming techniques. To me I think it has hurt wildlife but you can't fault a man for trying to make a living, just saying not all advances are progress.

That's an interesting perspective.  The farmer where I hunt has shared several times that he often kills nesting hens when cutting hay.  I'm not sure if modern farming techniques makes that situation any worse.  In my mind it's loss of habitat that causes decline.  Farms are selling out to developments, farmers are trying to use every available inch of land so they are knocking down woods, farming hillsides, etc.

Just about every farmer I have ever spoken with will tell you they have run over one form of game or another, especially while combining corn. Part of what I am getting at is some of the modern practices in farming leave less habitat than some of the older styles did.

[Spitten and drummen]

If you believe hunter numbers have decreased or that there are no more turkey hunters than it use to be then come on down here to Mississippi and take a look around.

[Tom007]

I hunt NJ, NY, and used to hunt PA. Started turkey hunting in 1983, birds were plentiful in PA, Jersey just re-introduced hunting in 1984. The birds in the 80's and 90's were very vocal. We were their main predators. Now, we have coyotes, bears, Bob cats etc. I have seen a steady decline in hunters, this is evident in permit availability. The success rate , however still stands at about 10% I believe. Gobbling activity is way less, I believe due to increase predation. I do think permit quotas could be reduced, or just have a 2 bird season limit, whether the state has a fall season or not. Limiting Jake harvesting is also a thought. These are my observations.....be safe

[turkey_slayer]

I'd go back to the old days in a second.   My old days may be different than most.   My old days consisted of a 100,000 acre WMA with a good population of birds.   And you might see 3 maybe 4 other camps.  The big technological advancement was the introduction of plastic shells.   Now turkey hunting, like a lot of other activities have been dumbed down to the point a first time hunter stands a good chance of success, thus having a negative effect on populations based on current bag limits and season lengths.   With all the crutches available today I doubt the population can keep up no matter what changes are made to season dates and bag limits.

Bingo

[Sir-diealot]

I hunt NJ, NY, and used to hunt PA. Started turkey hunting in 1983, birds were plentiful in PA, Jersey just re-introduced hunting in 1984. The birds in the 80's and 90's were very vocal. We were their main predators. Now, we have coyotes, bears, Bob cats etc. I have seen a steady decline in hunters, this is evident in permit availability. The success rate , however still stands at about 10% I believe. Gobbling activity is way less, I believe due to increase predation. I do think permit quotas could be reduced, or just have a 2 bird season limit, whether the state has a fall season or not. Limiting Jake harvesting is also a thought. These are my observations.....be safe

I would personally like to see it illegal to shoot bearded hens, hens are the future, it is foolish to allow them to be hunted especially when there is a downward spiral of turkey across the nation and Canada. I would also like to see coyote season last much longer than it does here in NY

[Loyalist84]

In my experience, weather has had much more to do with reduced populations in the last few years than predation. A wet spring two years ago thinned out the poults drastically in my home area, and while we have no closed season on Coyotes, it's clear that they aren't the only thing hurting birds in my home range. I think the fall seasons could be done away with as well, but that isn't a huge impact in my WMU.

[g8rvet]

One of the technologies that has really hurt turkey are the advances in farming techniques, you have faster combines that do a more efficient job and don't leave as much on the ground for wildlife as it once did, being faster animals do not have as much time to get out of the way of blades, discs or whatever is being used and they get injured or killed, farmers are cutting hay, clover and straw much sooner than they used to and that means nests getting run over or pults getting killed and so on and so fourth. When I was young you would see straw or hay cut twice a year starting normally late June and then again late August or early September so that cover is not there the way it once was and that is because of advances in farming techniques. To me I think it has hurt wildlife but you can't fault a man for trying to make a living, just saying not all advances are progress.

That is a well studied fact in duck nesting success on the prairies due to modern farming techniques.  DU and Delta make it so the farmer is paid to take precautions that help nesting success without hurting their bottom line. 

Wonder if NWTF has any such program/

[redleg06]

The turkey decline discussion could go a number of different ways but my personal thought process is that maximizing quality habitat AND minimizing predators are the two biggest factors. Yeah, hunting puts a dent in populations but I think it's pretty small relative to the damage from the natural predators that are out there hunting them 247/365.

For example, say the AVERAGE hunter shoots 3 birds per year, meanwhile your average Raccoon finds ONE nest...with 12 eggs...in a single swoop, that's 12 birds wiped out. Worse than just the flat out higher body count, that nest had both male AND female birds. That's ONE raccoon stumbling on to ONE nest. Let that sink in then think about how many coons are out there all day and all night searching for nest.

http://www.wildturkeyreport.com/turkey-management:-most-wanted